Remember
When Pricing Antiques:
Two Heads Are Better Than One!
For larger estate appraisals, I frequently invite my buddy and business partner,
Carl Hotkowski to join me. Providing that the two appraisers work, for the most
part, independently, I believe clients benefit in such instances. The benefit
has nothing to do with rate advantages. Like almost all appraisers, we bill our
time out per man-hour. It has to do with accuracy. Two heads are better than
one.
Carl's knowledge exceeds mine in some fields. And I likewise have areas where my
interests and experiences are finely tuned. When he's looking at silver, I'm
often turning old chairs upside down. After a while, when each of us have made
a detailed assessment as to the age, origin, condition and value of a list of
items, we swap lists to quickly see if our opinions match up. You see … antique
appraisal can be an imprecise subjective business-more art than science. Still,
I have not arrived at my real point. Let me blurt it out. Sometimes, even
antique "experts" get it wrong.
One such story revolves around a two-generation
antique dealer family, consisting of a husband, wife and their son, who was
reasonably new in the business in the time. Among their family heirlooms, from
the wife's side, was a 9-inch wide celluloid pin back photo button. In the
1890's technology was introduced that brought forth political and advertising
buttons. A few years later, for a handsome sum, people could have their own
family images printed on such buttons as a means of a keepsake. The button of
our story pictures the 1922 images of sisters, Beatrice and Helen Landers.
Their mother, who was known as Aunt Sil, saved up money to have three buttons
produced; one for her, and one each for her two sisters. Everybody in the strong
Irish catholic family were immensely proud of the two 17 years olds, for they
were about to take their vows and become Sister Daria and Sister Geraldine.
In the coming years, one of the buttons would hang proudly in the kitchen of
Aunt Sil's sister, Mary, while the nuns would rise in order. Sister Geraldine
would serve as principal to a catholic girl's school. Sister Daria would earn
the title of Mother Superior and Mary would name one of her daughters after
her. Daria grew up, married, had her own children and became an antique
dealer. She also inherited the one family possession that she wanted most of
all -- the picture button that hung for years in her mom's kitchen.
Eventually Daria's oldest son found his way into her business, becoming an
antique dealer. He studied nightly. One of his first assignments would be the
running of a tag sale for his mom and dad, using his knowledge to price items
from their attic. In his wisdom, he priced the picture button with Sister
Geraldine and Sister Daria, from whom his mother owed her very name -- for 50
cents.
Knowing that two eyes are better than one, Daria checked her son's prices and
retrieved the button. It hangs in her kitchen today. On the back of the button
there is now, scotch-taped, a note reading the following: "This is a photo of
Sister Daria (left) and Sister Geraldine (right) before they entered the
convent. They were my mother's nieces. I was named after Sister Daria. They
were beautiful ladies. Sister Daria became "Mother Superior" and sister
Geraldine was principal of a catholic girl's school. Each lived to their 80's.
(DO NOT SELL!)
The note was hand-written by Daria Mattox -- my mother.
by
AntiqueTalk.com
Reprinted with permission
Copyright by Wayne Mattox ©
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